Would you rather be a shoe or a yoga block? That's actually a trick question; you have no say in the matter!
Choreography of moving dance routines can be tricky! Not only do you have to come up with dance steps, you must also be mindful of formations including who goes where, when they move, and how they get there.
Fancy Free Cloggers held a special practice this week to finish choreography on a new moving traditional line routine. Some dancers were unable to attend as this was not one of our typical clogging nights.
When formations became confusing, our street shoes stood in for missing dancers. Sorry, Kim and Laura - you were represented by smelly sneakers. You both deserve something more elegant, but nobody showed up in Jimmy Choos.
This roll of duct tape stood in for Evie at a planning practice long ago...
I've heard of clogging teachers using their kids' toys to plan routines, representing dancers with matchbox cars or Legos. Others dig into their change jars and create a dance using pennies and dimes. My teammate Dustin has notebooks full of dots with our initials beside them representing formations through the years.
Perhaps we should each bring in an object to represent us when needed. I would choose either a Strawberry Shortcake doll (the nostalgic choice) or some sort of cat figurine (the obvious choice).
Let's hear from the choreographers out there! How do YOU plan formations and movements when creating routines?
Dancers: What object would you take to the studio to be your stand-in?